Civics Club hosted three St. Louis County Democratic Committee of Maryland Heights Voting Activists on Nov. 21 in the library after school. The event informed students about the impact they can have on the world. The activists answered common questions regarding voting impact as well as fostering respectful discussion about the future of the Democratic party.
“This world belongs to students,” voting activist Rusti Levin said.
Even though most students at North are not old enough to vote in elections yet, they can learn how to discern information to make educated decisions and make their voice heard in other ways that can shape their current reality as well as their future world.
“My vote as a student has an impact through organizations and efforts like Students Demand Action,” junior Tevin Chen said. “Through those kinds of programs, students like me can be heard.”
Levin strives to make a change in the world by impacting future generations’ voting habits and attitudes by helping to shape the younger generation’s mindset when it comes to the privilege of voting. By doing this, Levin and other activists can ensure that after they’re gone from the world, the country will be left in the hands of a competent generation.
“[The older generations] have already done it, and [students] need to get involved in their future because climate change, women’s rights, and war are all going to affect the next generations,” Levin said.
Senior Ray Rao, the president of the democratic side of Civics Club was in charge of reaching out to the activists as well as organizing this event in an attempt to give club members a good view of what their voice can do.
“It’s important to be involved in government and vote at a younger age because our generation is going to be greatly affected by [these] problems,” junior Olivia Werner said. “We are going to be the generation to help fix those problems and make a difference. ”
The main focus of many voting activist organizations right now is on voter turnout and how to get those numbers up for future elections in order to accurately represent Missouri’s voters.
According to Associated Press elections data, more than 153 million ballots were cast in this year’s race between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris, with hundreds of thousands of more still being counted. While this is a lot, only 64.3% of Missouri voters came out to vote.
“Voting is your number one priority to live in this world,” Levin said, addressing common questions as to why voting matters.
Another voting activist who spoke was Harvey Ferdman, who discussed how students can get involved in the political world around them. He explained how students can educate themselves so that when it comes time to vote, they are ready and how they should find something important to them that is bigger than them to learn about and understand..
“First thing to do is to find an organization that’s involved in something you’re passionate about and just go learn from them. Not necessarily go to participate, but go to listen and learn from them,” Ferdman said.
The Civics Club is currently planning to invite more non-partisan voting activists to speak to their club members soon.
